French Left-wing leaders have hailed Imane Khelif, the gold medal-winning boxer at the centre of a gender identity row, saying they were enjoying drinking “fascist tears” over her controversial Olympic triumph.
The 25-year-old Algerian overcame Yang Liu of China to take the women’s welterweight title in Paris on Friday night.
Khelif was cleared to participate in the Olympics despite having failed a gender eligibility test carried out by the International Boxing Association.
Her first-round opponent, the Italian Angela Carini, quit after just 46 seconds, saying she had never been hit so hard before and withdrew to “save my life”.
The details of the test Ms Khelif reportedly failed have not been made public, but it has been alleged that she possesses male XY chromosomes.
Olympic rules rely on the passport given to fighters, and the organisers do not carry out gender tests.
After her victory, prominent members of the French Left were quick to praise her for overcoming “fascist criticism”.
Sandrine Rousseau, a Green MP, said: “We tell you, the tears of fascists make you stronger. Well done, Imane Khelif.”
Aurélie Trouvé, an MP in the hard-Left La France Insoumise, said: “Bravo to Imane Khelif, who faced so many filthy attacks with great courage. The best response is this gold medal. Strength to her. What a champion.”
Ersilia Soudais, another La France Insoumise MP, said: “Keep crying, fascists. I drink your tears.”
Ségolène Royal, the former wife of Francois Hollande, the former French president, said: “When a man dominates competitions, we say he is an exceptional athlete. His hormones are not put under scrutiny.”
Elon Musk, JK Rowling and Donald Trump are among those who have criticised Khelif’s participation, implying that she is a man and arguing that she posed a threat to competitors.
France has reacted more warily to so-called “woke” culture than Britain, with cross-party concerns about importing the politics of US university campuses.
Jean-Michel Blanquer, a former education minister under Emmanuel Macron, the president, set up a think tank to defend France from it.
The New Popular Front Left-wing alliance campaigned for citizens to be allowed to easily change their gender at any town hall, a move Mr Macron called “completely grotesque”.
The alliance, which includes La France Insoumise, came first in July’s elections but failed to secure the majority that would allow it to enact the policy.
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